Social Media

What Facebook's New Features Mean for Journalists

Most of the changes that Facebook announced at its f8 conference have gone into effect (even though we're still waiting for Timeline). In general, new Facebook tools create opportunities for journalists to evolve their personal brands and beats.

“Profiles and subscribe are going to be the most useful for journalists that are posting as themselves,” says Lavrusik. He suggests these users review their profile settings if they plan to start using Facebook publicly. Oftentimes, their privacy settings may be so restricted that their profiles won't appear in public search. Conversely, users should check settings to make sure they don't publicly share more than they're comfortable with.

Apart from individual journalists, larger-scale media organizations are reaping the benefits of the new Facebook. Lavrusik acknowledges that online media will always have concerns that page views affect advertising. Why, then, would they export their media to an outside host like Facebook? According to Lavrusik, Facebook has monetized the advertising available in its applications. "You can put advertising on there and monetize the audience. … You can control what’s in that environment," he explains. "[Media] is thinking about it as a mobile application; you’re able to consume content in Facebook instead of kicking back to a news site.”

In response to Mashable deputy editor Chris Taylor's assertion that "Facebook Is Too Damn Complicated," Lavrusik says that most users don't engage with every tool on Facebook anyway. "Your average user isn’t going to use all these features," he says. "You don’t have to do everything on Facebook. It becomes complicated when you think about it that way.”

On the other hand, some of us at least want to try to use Timeline. When will it finally roll out? "When it's ready," Lavrusik promises.

For more of a helping hand, see the gallery below for Lavrusik's presentation slides and Facebook advice for journalists.

What Facebook's New Features Mean for Journalism

1. Ticker: Live Updates

"We wanted to surface things that were more timely," says Lavrusik. The ticker is completely unfiltered. This is a great thing for media companies because it puts a lot more emphasis on breaking content. There are now two opportiunities to see that: either as a recent story or through the ticker."

2. Subscribe

"A lot of people wanted to use their profiles to communicate in a more professional way. Subscribe allows you to do that," says Lavrusik.

3. Search Public Updates

Search public updates to report. Many people don't know about this capability, says Lavrusik. "This page gives you a bunch of filtiering options. 'Posts by Everyone are public posts."

4. Storytelling & Breaking News

Whether you're representing a media organization or work as a freelance journalist, try and be on the cutting edge of news by posting "real-time" updates.

In addition to hard news, consider incorporating a personal element or a first-hand observation. "When you think about what people post on Facebook, it's often very close and personal," says Lavrusik.

5. News Feed: 5,000 Character Limit

"Before, when you would pass the 420 character limit, it would prompt you to turn the post into a note," explains Lavrusik. "People were using it to blog. They wanted to post in a more creative way...[A larger character limit] is for people who don't want that rich formatting with notes, but who want to use Facebook as a blogging platform."

6. Engagement

"Dateline NBC was doing a follow-up on David Goldman, and they had this teaser on the show that said, 'Do you have questions for David Goldman? Go to our Facebook page.' I thought no way, but Goldman was actually on there answering questions from users. It's a powerful engagement platform," says Lavrusik.

7. Video Chat

As a journalist, try using video chat for long-distance interviews.

8. Livestream App

If your work involves video or audio, consider hosting a broadcast using a livestream app on Facebook.

9. Add Incentive to Content

Lavrusik didn't get to this slide, but the content was too curious not to include. KSAX incentivized Facebook fans by promising that it would share a video of meteorologist Mark Anthony getting tased -- once KSAX reached 3,000 likes on Facebook.

Mashable Media Summit 2011

Media Summit 2011

The Mashable Media Summit on Nov. 4 at the Times Center in New York City attracted professionals in digital, tech, advertising, sales, marketing, mobile and publishing from all over the world.

Media Summit 2011

We had a packed house in attendance for this year's Media Summit.

The Future of Social Media

Pete Cashmore, founder and CEO of Mashable, speaks on the future of social media, its current landscape and what trends to expect for 2012.

Media Summit 2011

This year's Media Summit was located at the Times Center in New York City.

Social Media Grows Up: The Evolving Role of Social Media in News Organizations

Mashable's community manager Meghan Peters chats with Katie Rogers, social media manager at The Washington Post; Anthony De Rosa, social media editor at Reuters; and Drake Martinet, social media editor at AllThingsD.

Teaching – and Learning From – The Old Grey Lady

Brian Stelter, a media reporter and blogger at The New York Times speaks at the Media Summit.

The Filter Bubble: How to Fix Content Curation

Eli Pariser, author and chairman of the board at MoveOn.org, discusses how human editors and algorithms can work together to get users clicking on content that matters.

What Facebook's New Features Mean For Journalism

Adam Ostrow, executive editor and senior vice president of content, Mashable speaks with Vadim Lavrusik, journalist program manager of Facebook, about how the social network's new features can help journalists.

The Evolution of Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated Group editor, Terry McDonell, talks about the magazine's transition from print to digital with Mashable's Editor in Chief Lance Ulanoff.

From Tactile to Mobile

Josh Koppel, co-founder and chief creative officer of ScrollMotion, speaks on the reinvention of content experience and engagement.

TV Makes You Smarter

Christy Tanner, TV Guide's general manager and executive vice president, explains how technology is changing entertainment for better and for worse.

TV Guide Audience

A member of the audience asks TVGuide general manager and EVP Christy Tanner about technology's changes to the entertainment industry.

Who Owns Your Identity?

Mashable Senior Vice President Robyn Peterson speaks with Andy Mitchell, strategic partner of development at Facebook about how much of our identity is shared to third-party sites. Also on stage is Patrick Harding, CTO of Ping Identity, and Tim Dierks, senior vice president of engineering at Huffington Post.

Who Owns Your Identity?

Mashable Senior Vice President Robyn Peterson speaks with Andy Mitchell, strategic partner of development at Facebook; Patrick Harding, CTO of Ping Identity; and Tim Dierks, senior vice president of engineering at Huffington Post about how much of our identity is shared to third-party sites.

Like A Virgin

Tor Myhren, Grey president and chief creative officer, talked about the ultimate user experience, and how different it is today from when he was a teen. Here he is at age 14.

Like A Virgin

Tor Myhren, Grey president and chief creative officer, talked about the ultimate user experience, and how different it is today from when he was a teen.

The Problem of Prediction

Tony Haile, CEO of Chartbeat, discusses how real time data changes what you should be doing.

One on One

The New Model of Content and Commerce

Lauren Indvik, marketing and media associate editor at Mashable, is joined by a panel including Alexis Maybank, founder and chief marketing officer of Gilt Groupe ; Maureen Mullen, research and advisory lead of L2; and David Granger, editor in chief of Esquire.

The New Model of Content and Commerce

Lauren Indvik, marketing and media associate editor at Mashable, is joined by a panel including Alexis Maybank, Founder and chief marketing officer of Gilt Groupe ; Maureen Mullen, research and advisory lead of L2; and David Granger, editor in chief of Esquire.

The Future of Social TV

Mashable's entertainment editor Christina Warren talks with a panel including Alex Iskold, GetGlue founder and CEO; Jesse Redniss, vice president of digital, USA Networks; and Tom Thai, vice president of marketing and business development at Bluefin Labs, about the future of social media in its relationship with television.

The Future of Social TV

Mashable's entertainment editor Christina Warren talks with a panel including Alex Iskold, GetGlue founder and CEO; Jesse Redniss, vice president of digital, USA Networks; and Tom Thai, vice president of marketing and business development at Bluefin Labs, about the future of social media in its relationship with television.

The Future of Social TV

Mashable's entertainment editor Christina Warren talks with a panel including Alex Iskold, GetGlue founder and CEO; Jesse Redniss, vice president of digital, USA Networks; and Tom Thai, vice president of marketing and business development at Bluefin Labs, about the future of social media in its relationship with television.

Breaking Down Content Barriers

Michael Lazerow, founder and CEO of Buddy Media talks about the rules of content that need to be changed for social media.

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